Earth Trust
📍 Little Wittenham
🌿 Nature Reserve
💷 Free
⏰ 1 - 6 hours
👣 Potential for expeditions
☕ Cafe, Toilets
May 2026 · Nature Adventures · Nature Reserves
An epic adventure spotting newts, buzzards, kingfishers, caterpillars and so much more.
One day in half term, I decided we couldn't wait any longer. It was time to visit the Earth Trust Centre. The couple of times I've visited before, we've just walked up and down the clumps. But this time I was determined to explore it all.
Which in retrospect, I would not advise on a really hot day, especially if you have a mildly injured nine-year-old. It's way bigger than I thought, and Little Leopard was very grumpy by the end. BUT also, the amount of nature we spotted was staggering and my over ambitious nature has not stopped him from absolutely loving the place and wanting to return again asap.
We started off by getting the bus to Long Wittenham (it only runs on weekdays, and only a couple of times a day), then wandering down through the community orchard (managed by the Sylva Foundation) and through Neptune Woods (managed by the Earth Trust).
The wilder side of the orchard was chock-full of birds and minibeasts. What was supposed to be a quick cut through kept us entertained for nearly an hour spotting butterflies, cinnabar moths, caterpillars, spiders, beetles, ladybirds, dragonflies, spittlebugs and so much more. It's such a wonderfully alive place.
We were there by 8am, listening to the birds chatting, and got excited at hearing a new song we haven't come across before. We checked on the merlin app which said we'd heard a Jay, confirmed when we saw a flash of colour swooping in the trees.
The orchard is also brilliant for its replica of an Anglo-Saxon house. Open to the public for special events only, you can have a little peek through the door. As Little Leopard pointed out, "it smells like the olden days!"
Neptune Wood adjoins the orchard, Little Leopard was initially disappointed by the neat rows of trees, indicating that it's a newly planted wood. It was created in 2005, when 10,000 oak trees were planted by people from the local community including 750 children. What a wonderful thing.
There are plenty of minibeasts to find in the woods still, but Little Leopard's highlight was definitely the little pond. He declared loudly that there were newts in there, I checked sceptically, but he was right, there really were lots of smooth newt larvae swimming around.
I tried unsuccessfully to get some good shots of the birds, meanwhile Little Leopard found a dazzling feather with blue stripes (from a Jay, maybe our friend that we'd heard earlier?)
If you've got an hour or two spare then the orchard and woods would be a lovely place to spend them. Have a look here for more information, there is a car park.
I'm incapable of leaving any paths unexplored so we ventured on, across the meadow, towards the broad arboretum, getting our first good look at the clumps, with Little Leopard proclaiming,
"We've got to walk all the way up there?!)"
I LOVE the idea of the Broad Arboretum as a 'living library'. It contains 49 species of shrubs and trees - all of those that are native to Oxfordshire. It's also a great place to slowly, mindfully stroll round, the winding paths guiding you around.
The highlight was some bird cherry trees that were COVERED in Ermine Moth webs. It literally looked like some kind of Halloween display, with white webs covering the trees so completely that they barely looked real. Getting a little closer, it was easy to see the caterpillars wriggling around inside.
It's a short stroll from the arboretum to the visitor centre, so make sure to pop over to it if you're parking there anyway.
We stopped at the cafe for coffee and ice cream. (Because even though we'd only walked a couple of miles, we'd stopped to look at everything, so it had taken us three hours.)
Then it was time to head up the iconic clumps. Little Leopard assuredly announced that he could run up without stopping, then quickly ran out of puff half way up. We sat at a bench at the top having a little picnic, spotting all the sights that we've visited previously. It's an especially great view from here down to Bishop's Court Farm and Dorchester.
We walked through the woods at the top of Round Hill, then strolled down and back up to Castle Hill, marvelling at how they can be so close but have different vibes. Castle Hill is definitely more earthwork-y (probably not the technical term), and feels much more historical. Little Leopard enjoyed playing olden day soldier look out there. He also loved watching rabbits darting around, and birds swooping around.
Little Wittenham woods run along the bottom of castle hill so we moseyed on down and into them. The undular paths are wonderfully maintained, it's especially fun to take a couple of the smaller ones, and suddenly be surrounded by ferns, butterflies and dragonflies.
Designated an SSSI because of the Great Crested Newts that breed there, we kept our eyes closely peeled, but didn't spot any signs of newts, or eggs laid in the leaves. We also listened out for new birds including the firecrest.
We had a lovely time spotting lots of minibeasts everywhere, zigzagging up and down all the paths. I've since read that there's a bird hide near the river that's good for looking out for otters and kingfishers, we'll definitely be checking that out on our next visit.
Because I didn't calculate how long the walk would be if we tried to visit nearly everything in one go, we then walked over the fields, to the River of Life walk, before finishing our adventure in Shillingford. Unless you've got kids who love long walks, I wouldn't advise doing it like this, it ended up being about eight miles long.
By that point Little Leopard was understandably tired, which meant some of the magic was lost on him. A shame really because we were seeing some incredible wildlife including a buzzard circling the fields. And one of my highlights of the year so far, the iconic flash of blue and orange as a kingfisher darted around. We walk along the Thames so frequently, and I've never spotted one before, but this one kept zipping around, impossible to miss. Also impossible to get a photo of, it was so quick.
We didn't manage to do justice to the site in one day, it will definitely require going back many more times to enjoy the abundance of nature to explore there.
Nature Notes
Smooth Newts
The secretive pond-dweller that spends part of its life underwater
Smooth newts are small amphibians that live in ponds, gardens, woodlands, and damp grasslands
For much of the year they live on land, hiding beneath logs, stones, and leaf litter
During spring, smooth newts return to ponds to breed and develop a flattened tail for swimming
Males perform an underwater courtship dance, waving their tails to attract females
Their eggs are laid one at a time, carefully wrapped inside the leaves of aquatic plants
Smooth newts feed on insects, worms, and other small invertebrates, helping to keep ecosystems in balance
Ermine Moth Webs
The silky shelters spun by thousands of hungry caterpillars
Ermine moth caterpillars work together to create large white webs that can completely cover shrubs and small trees
The webs act as protective shelters, helping the caterpillars stay safe from birds and other predators
Hundreds of caterpillars may live inside a single web, feeding on the branches leaves, and growing together
Although the webs can make plants look dramatic or damaged, healthy shrubs usually recover quickly
These remarkable webs are a temporary part of nature’s cycle and provide a fascinating glimpse into the lives of social caterpillars
Kingfishers
The dazzling river hunter with electric-blue feathers
Kingfishers are small brightly coloured birds often seen darting low over rivers and streams
Their brilliant blue and orange feathers shimmer in sunlight, making them one of Britain’s most striking birds
Kingfishers hunt by watching the water from low branches before diving headfirst to catch fish
They have excellent eyesight and can accurately judge the movement of prey beneath the water’s surface
Kingfishers nest in tunnels burrowed into riverbanks, where both parents help raise the chicks
Iconic hills, woods and rivers combined with fabulous nature spotting opportunities.
Address: Earth Trust, Little Wittenham, OX14 4QZ
Parking: Free parking. Earth Trust Centre car park open 9-5 mon-fri. Wittenham Clumps car park open 24hrs, free.
Opening Hours: Always Open
Entry Fee: Free
Website: earthtrust.org.uk
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